


Convergance

by andapanda



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo is a Mess, Catharsis, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Force Ghost(s), Force Shenanigans, HEA Guaranteed, Happy Ending, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, The Force, The Force Ships It, Time Shenanigans, Whump, World Between Worlds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22165021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andapanda/pseuds/andapanda
Summary: Rey is struggling to move on with the gaping wound caused by the death of her other half but when she suddenly senses him in a strange world, she is determined to find him.Meanwhile Ben wakes up in the World Between Worlds, unsure of where he is, he won't let that stop him trying to find a way out and get back to Rey.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 124





	1. Someone Familiar

It had been her first kiss, she didn't know why she had done it at the time. She remembers waking up, seeing Ben, kissing him had just felt like the right thing to do, and the way it had felt proved to her that it was. And his smile, Rey had never seen a smile so bright, it made her feel warm inside. But then he collapsed, before she could process what had happened, Ben was already fading away.

That had been one year ago.

Rey had tried to move on with her life after the war ended, she didn’t feel ready to start up a Jedi academy so that could wait for a few more years. She had tried staying on Tatooine for a while but even after cleaning out the Lars homestead, it never felt like a home. There was always something, some _one,_ missing. She returned to her friends after that, not wanting to be alone, but even that didn’t make the loneliness inside her disappear.

Poe and Finn were often busy these days, neither much political figures but as the generals of the resistance, senators were keen to get their opinions. This left Rey on her own with Chewbacca, BB-8 and D-O most of the time, Rose sometimes joining them on the Falcon as they waited for the two men.

That’s where she found herself now, watching as Rose and Chewie stared intently at the Dejarik board between them. It was Roses move, Rey remembered, but the rest was mostly lost on her. Rose finally made her move, though Rey didn’t find it very eventful, the little holographic monster only moved a space.

Chewie then made his move after some more intense staring that Rey was very quickly losing interest in.

“I hope you’re not going easy on me.” Rose said as she made her monster attack Chewie’s. Chewie groaned a reply.

“What do you mean you don’t _have_ to go easy on me?” Rose said. “I’ll beat you one day!”

Rey smiled at their interaction, as much as she didn’t really get Dejarik, she did enjoy watching her friends interactions when they played it. But the game was interrupted when Finn and Poe entered the Falcon, BB-8 rolling towards his oldest companion with D-O following close by.

“What do you mean I shouldn’t have told them that? They asked!” They heard Poe say as the pair made their way into the main hold.

“Well you could have phrased it less...like that!” Finn said as they reached the main hold.

“Rough time?” Rose asked them, giving them a sympathetic look. Though Rey knew she was relieved to not have to deal with senators like the co-generals.

“You have no idea.” Poe started. “The idea of becoming a hermit is starting to sound very nice.”

Rey couldn’t help the little snort that escaped her, her mind going to Luke and imagining Poe, disheveled and hidden away on some nowhere island like Luke on Ahch-To.

“What? You think I can’t be a hermit?” Poe joked.

“No.” Rey said. “You would be running for the next pilot seat after a day at best.”

That made the group laugh, Poe along with them even if it was at his expense. Rey enjoyed these moments, it made her forget about the loneliness that persisted inside her.

After some time, Chewbacca growled a question that reminded them that they still had some senators left to talk to.

“Taris is next.” Poe said. “And so long as no other senator asks for anything, it’s the last one.”

“Don’t say that, so far everytime you say that, more senators ask for our help.” Finn sighed, even after all this time, he was obviously not used to all of these political talks.

Rey gave her friends a sympathetic look, she understood politics about as much as Finn and hoped that she would never have to take part, but somehow she knew that when her status as a Jedi was more well known, a lot of politicians would want to speak with her. But until then, she would pilot the Falcon with Chewie.

“So, Taris?” Rey said as she stood up, Rose and Chewie both doing so as well to let Rey leave the lounge seat.

“I need to make a stop at Yavin-4 first.” Poe said, already heading for the cockpit ahead of Rey.

“What’s on Yavin-4?” Finn asked.

“My mom.” Was all that Poe said, disappearing into the corridor with BB-8 rolling behind him.

“Well...guess we’re stopping on Yavin-4 then.” Rose said. “Rey, are you flying?”

“Not this time.” Rey answered and looked at Chewie. “Is that alright with you?”

Chewie groaned a reply and made his way to the cockpit to join Poe, Finn deciding to go along with him, leaving the two girls alone in the main hold.

* * *

As the Falcon left the planet's atmosphere and entered Hyperspace, Rey had already retreated back into the crew quarters to meditate. It wasn’t an activity she enjoyed but she understood the necessity of it, and though she wouldn’t admit it outloud, she did hope that maybe one day the activity would connect her with Ben.

But before she could start, she was interrupted by someone opening the door to the quarters.

“Rey, are you busy?” Rose asked as she entered the room. Rey shakes her head, she could meditate later.

“Can we talk?” Rose then asks, Rey giving her a confused look.

“Of course.” Rey answered. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I am, I’m fine.” Rose reassures her friend. “I’m just wondering if you are.”

“Me?” Rey simply said, not sure how to answer.

“You’ve seemed sad.” Rose says as she sits down on one of the bunks. “For a long time now actually, I didn’t know if I should have said anything sooner but, I’m worried about you.”

“I’m..I’m fine Rose.” Rey said, trying to convince herself just as much as Rose.

“Are you sure? You can always talk to me if you want.” Rose said.

“It’s just some, Jedi Force stuff.” Rey tried to explain, she didn’t like lying to her friends but she wasn’t sure how to explain that a part of her was literally dead.

“Yeah, I might not understand that.” Rose chuckled. “But still, are you sure you don’t want to talk? You’re not alone you know.”

Rey couldn’t help the smile forming on her lips, she knew she wasn’t alone, not really. Despite the lonely feeling persisting within her, she had people around her that loved her and wanted to help her.

A family.

“I know.” Rey said, finally sitting down next to Rose on the bunk. “And I’m thankful for that.”

“You know, when my sister died, I felt so alone.” Rose confessed. “It took me some time to realise that I wasn’t.”

“I’m sorry.” Rey didn’t know what else to say or how to comfort her friend other than to put her hand on her shoulder. Rose had told her about her sister Paige and Rey couldn’t help but admire the woman from all the stories.

“Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you can talk to us, all of us, alright?” Rose finally said as she gave Rey a quick hug before standing up.

“Thank you.” Rey said as she watched her friend leave the room with one last reassuring smile.

Left alone in the quarters again, Rey crossed her legs to try to meditate again, but with the recent conversation fresh in her mind, she wondered if she really should tell everyone about what had happened on Exegol. What had happened to her and how Ben and her had been a dyad in the force, two that were one. Soulmates in everything but name...

And how his death had left a gaping wound within her.

She knew she really had to make a decision sooner rather than later. She hadn’t even told them about the bond after they met up again at Crait, she had told Leia and her former master was intrigued but she never asked Rey too much about it. She suspected the general knew more than she let on but at the time, Rey mostly wanted to forget about it and try to ignore the feelings she felt for Ben.

Now she just wished she had it back. Had _him_ back.

Rey was familiar with waiting for someone who was never coming back, she knew how much it hurt to finally accept that someone wasn’t coming back to her. Yet she still found herself hoping, hoping that maybe one day, Ben Solo would just show up and their bond would be restored and they could be happy together.

_Was it too much to ask for them to be together?_ She often wondered to herself.

Rey ended up giving up on meditating after a while and instead went and joined the group in the cockpit as Poe told them stories of his childhood home. What caught Rey’s attention was the mention of a Force tree.

“My parents planted it when they settled there.” Poe explained.

“So is the tree Force sensitive? Or is it just called a Force tree?” Finn asked, a question that was on everyone’s lips.

“No idea, dad said it’s force sensitive, was one of two twigs left from the original tree from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.” Poe said with a shrug. “Never really cared much about a magic tree growing up.”

“I’d like to see it.” Rey said, she remembered reading about the Great Tree on Coruscant but knew little else about it.

“Sure, it’s almost right outside the colony so we can land pretty close.” Poe said with a small laugh, something told Rey that he knew she would say that.

* * *

The trip to Yavin-4 wasn’t a long one, especially with Poe telling everyone stories, not just about Yavin-4 but about his parents and their roles in the old Rebellion. Rey enjoyed the stories of his family the most and she admired Shara Bey quite a bit.

The stories ended with the Falcon exiting hyperspace above the planet. Rey always loved seeing lush forest planets, there was so much life and so much green. It was something out of a dream for Rey, even after the past two years that she had been off of Jakku, it never failed to amaze her when they landed on forested planets.

“It’s beautiful.” Rey let out accidentally.

“It is.” Poe agreed with a smile.

As the Falcon landed on Yavin-4 the group was greeted by an older man that reminded Rey of Poe. The older man walked over to Poe when he saw him go down the ramp and the two men hugged when they met.

Rey stood with the rest of the group on the ramp as they watched the two men hug and smile at each other. Chewie was the only one that kept going down the ramp and was greeted kindly by the older man as well. Poe spotted the other three on the ramp and said something to the older man and patted him on the shoulder before turning back to the trio.

“Guys, this is my dad.” Poe explained and beckoned the three to come down the ramp.

“Kes Dameron, glad to finally meet you.” Kes said, causing the three to look at each other.

“Finally?” Finn asked, voicing the question they all had.

“Poe sends me messages sometimes, when he bothers to.” Kes said, the last bit a little louder to make sure Poe heard it.

“Hey, I’ve been busy!” Poe tried to defend himself, causing his father to laugh.

Rey smiled at their exchange, a little envious of their relationship. She wondered if her own father would have been similar to Kes, if he would want her to send him updates on how she was doing. If he would greet her at the platform anytime she would come home. She was pulled from her thoughts when Kes talked to her.

“I suspect you want to see the Force Tree?” He asked her and she nodded, giving him a slightly confused look.

“You’re a young Jedi, yes? I just guessed you wanted to know more about the Force.” Kes explained with a chuckle. “I can show you where it is.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, sensing the tree not far from the platform they were on now.

“Thank you.” Rey said giving the older man a smile. “But I think I can find it.”

“Alright.” Kes said with a smile. Something told Rey that he was familiar with Force sensitives.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Finn then asked but Rey shook her head.

“No, I won’t be long.” Rey explained before she started making her way off the platform.

Rey wasn’t in a rush making her way to the Force Tree. Using the time to enjoy the nice mild weather and the wind blowing through the trees. It was serene and full of life.

It didn’t take her long to reach the tree. It stood out from the others as the only Uneti tree in the area, but other than that, it looked like a very normal tree, nothing else made you think it was Force sensitive.

Something was telling Rey to come closer to the tree, she did think about just meditating at its base but instead she decided to touch it. She felt the Force flow through the tree then, how it made the palm of her hand tingle against the rough bark.

Then something happened.

She saw a place, a strange black place, with white lines that looked like roads leading to nowhere. There was no one there but she felt something, it was muted as if something was blocking her senses. But it was something familiar.

Some _one_ familiar and it hit her, she knew _who_ it was.

“Ben.”


	2. The Way Forward

Ben woke up in pain.

He had woken up in a lot of pain under Snoke many times before and had grown used to it. That didn’t mean that it was pleasant in the slightest. He tried to think back to how he got injured, his mind felt fuzzy, as if he had hit his head on something. And then he remembered; Palpatine. 

The pit.

_ Rey. _

He went to stand up, but quickly fell back down as his breath was cut off with a choke as sudden hot flash of pain ran up his leg, as if someone was pressing a lightsaber against his skin.

This was enough to remind him of his walk over to Rey’s body, how many times he tripped because his leg was injured. He remembered clutching her lifeless body, how pale she looked and her empty eyes. He remembered how lonely he felt the whole time she was gone. It hadn’t been long but it  _ hurt _ and he couldn’t stand it, and the few minutes he held her body close, he realized that no one else was going to come to help him. 

Help  _ her _ . 

So he knew what he had to do, and that he had the strength to do it.

He then remembered the kiss. In his thirty years of life, he had never felt anything so right. She was soft unlike the gritty sands of the planet she grew up on. He realised then that he could pass on and be somewhat happy, and now he was here in the black space with endless stars and white roads that led to nowhere and what looked like circular patterns.

And judging by the amount of pain he was in, he was either being punished by everything he did as Kylo Ren... or he was still alive.

Then he felt it. 

_ Rey. _

It wasn’t like normal, it was like he was sensing her through a thick sludge. This was enough to push him forward, that he could still feel her. He had to  _ find _ her.

He needed to get moving.

He raised his shirt up to see the damage on his side, seeing the dark bruise covering most of the left side of his abdomen. He applied pressure to the bruise to assess the damage, he winced at the sharp pain that shot up his side, but he had to know just how bad it was. 

After checking himself thoroughly for injuries, he concluded that he had a couple of broken ribs, his organs most likely weren’t fine,  _ something  _ was probably ruptured, but he was glad that his heart and lungs seemed to be fine for now.

He then moved on to his right leg, removing his boot and rolling up the pant leg. It was bruised like his side but at least there was no obvious break, no bone nor awkward angles. He guessed that it must be fractured then, or at least sprained.

He couldn’t sit around for too long assessing his injuries, he had nothing to splint his leg so he would have to bear the pain and hope it wouldn’t cause to much permanent damage. And if there’s anything his mother taught him growing up, it was  _ hope _ .

So Ben forced himself to stand up, trying not to stand on his right leg to much and holding his side as he slowly started to go in the direction he could only hope was the right way to Rey.

It didn’t take long for Ben to trip, causing him to grunt in pain as he hit the ground. But he couldn’t let that stop him, he had to keep going, he  _ had  _ to find Rey _.  _ So he stood back up, only to come face to face with his mother.

“I’m not sure if you got your reckless stubbornness from me or your father.” Leia said with a sigh.

“Mom…” Was all Ben could say at the sight of his mother. He hadn’t seen her for so long, and now, with the ethereal blue glow and the white hooded dress she wore. She looked so different, yet exactly how he remembered her.

“Hello Ben.” She said with a smile.

“What are you...?” He said. A part of him wanted to hug his mother, like he had done as a kid.

“Who told you you could get so tall?” She said, cutting him off and ignoring his question. “Your father wasn’t even that tall.”

“Mom…” Ben said with a sigh.

“I guess your grandfather  _ was _ quite tall.” Leia continued.

“Is my height the only thing you came here for!?” He asked, his voice growing louder as he became more and more frustrated with his mothers behavior

“I suppose not.” Leia chuckled, ignoring his sudden change in behavior. “But maybe I should have.”

“Really? Because you’re shorter than I remember.” Ben shot back at his mother.

He wasn’t lying, he knew his mother wasn’t the tallest woman in the galaxy but she really  _ was _ shorter than he recalled.

“Yeah, well, the Force doesn’t grant you extra height once you become one with it.” Leia said before her expression changed to a more somber one. 

“I missed you Ben.”

Ben was caught off guard, for so long he believed he couldn’t go back to his mother due to everything he did, then she had called to him through the Force, sacrificing her life to do so. 

Even after that, hearing her say it still caught him off guard.

“I missed you too…” He replied quietly. “And...I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Leia said with a pause. “I am too.”

“You are?” Ben asked confused as to what his mother would be sorry for.

“When I was pregnant, I sensed something trying to get to you, something dark. And even then, I wasn’t there for you. I wasn’t there to  _ protect _ you.” Leia explained, her voice quiet and full of regret. Moving her gaze away from her son in guilt.

“I’m  _ so _ sorry, Ben.”

“You couldn’t have known.” Ben then said, he had never blamed his parents for anything.

Yes, he thought they feared him when he was young due to his strong connections to the Force and felt abandoned when they shipped him off to Luke’s academy. But as much as he had tried to deny it, he never stopped loving them.

Leia looked back up at her son, despite him being older, she still saw her little Ben. The messy black hair and dark eyes, the moles scattered across his face like stars in the night sky. He was her  _ son _ and as a part of the Force, she knew he was back as Ben. The dark side would always try to pull him back, but he would always be her Ben.

“I’m supposed to be helping you.” Leia said, pulling her hood down. “If you want it, of course.”

“Help me with what?” Ben asked, sitting back down to rest his leg.

“Well, you want to find your way out of here, don’t you?” She said and sat down next to her son.

“I do.” Ben agreed with a nod.

“I suspected as much.” Leia said with a chuckle. “But first you must know where you are.”

Ben sighed, he had never been known for his patience, but he also knew not to argue with his mother.

“This place has a few names, but the World Between Worlds is more well known.” Leia began her explanation, noting her son’s impatience. “It’s a world within the Force that exists between time and space.”

“So the circles?” Ben recalled reading about something called the World Between Worlds, but there was very little on it so he could never learn much.

“Doors to different moments.” Leia explained. “And you need to find the right one.”

Ben looked around, the roads were winding what looked like  _ everywhere  _ and there were many doors as well. It could take forever to find the right door and he needed to do it fast.

“Time doesn’t work the same here, son.” Leia said, noticing Ben looking around at the gates and her son had always shown his emotions on his face.

“I need to find her mom.” Ben said, his resolve clear, Rey had finally taken his hand and he had let it go. He  _ needed  _ to fix that.

“Then go.” Leia said, placing her hand on her son’s cheek. “Go, my little prince.”

Ben leaned into his mother’s touch, it felt odd through the force but he would take everything he could get and knowing that she could touch him, he knew he could hug her.

And that’s what he did.

He wrapped his arms around his mother’s ghostly form, his injured side screaming at him as he moved to do so. Leia hugged him back, holding on to him as tight as she could. They had many things they wanted to say to each other but didn’t know how. So they both tried to convey it through the hug, whether or not it succeeded, they both got what they needed.

“I love you Ben, I always have.” Leia said, knowing she would have to let go of her son so he could go.

“I know.” Ben said, smiling as his mother let out a small laugh. “Thank you.”

They let go of each other and Ben stood up, gritting his teeth as he did so. He knew he wouldn’t be able to go as fast as he liked, but he had to move and find the door to the right moment so that he could find Rey. He still sensed her, it was muted and dull, barely there... but there nonetheless.

“May the Force be with you.” Leia said, standing like when she had first appeared to him.

Ben nodded, taking one last look at his mother before he started making his way forward the best he could. He had no idea where to start, he could only trust that the Force would guide him there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter through Ben's POV  
> His chapters are usually a little bit shorter due to it being mostly just him and not much of a scenery change but I do try to do what I can with what I have.
> 
> also, weird Force Time shifts yay!


	3. What You Have To Do

Rey’s palm was pressed against the tree, fingers spread wide as she breathed heavily. Each breath felt heavier than the last, like her lungs were filling with lead at the revelation, Ben was  _ alive. _ Yet for a year he had been gone, at least, that’s what she believed because she saw him fade away.

She felt their bond  _ break _ .

She felt frozen in place, unsure of what to think or what to do. She felt hurt and angry, at who she wasn’t sure, herself? The Force? But she also felt relieved, she could go look for Ben, find out wherever that black and white world was and get him back.

She collapsed down to her knees, her hand still resting on the tree, the gentle hum of the Force within it still tingling against her palm. Almost as if it was reassuring her that yes, this was true. What she saw and felt was real and she wasn’t alone.

Then she saw drops land on her thighs, her vision blurring slightly. Tears, she realised, touching her wet cheeks to make sure. She hadn’t cried once after Ben died, she wanted to cry, to scream and yell and curse at the world for taking her other half away from her. But she couldn’t, she felt numb and empty for so long, and now with renewed hope, she could finally cry. Not from sadness or grief, but from joy.

She couldn’t help but laugh even with the tears streaming down her face. She probably looked ridiculous to anyone walking by, she wasn’t far from the colony after all. But she couldn’t bring herself to care, she had hope again, like how the galaxy got its own happy ending, she could get hers.

She did notice that the bond still felt different, muted and distant. But it was there, like a single drop had fallen into the emptiness inside her. She knew that, as a Jedi, she shouldn’t go after him, that she should let go. But she tried that and it only kept hurting and for once, she wanted to be selfish and go seize her own happiness.

She started wiping away the tears from her face, resting her forehead against the tree and thanking it. She wasn’t sure if it was sentient in the same way as she and her friends were, but it had the Force flowing through it and she wanted it to know just how much she appreciated it showing her what it did.

“Are you done?” Rey whipped around, seeing Luke Skywalker standing a few feet away from her.

“How long have you been standing there?” Rey asked, making sure that all the tears had been wiped away before standing up to face the old Jedi master.

“Long enough.” He said, a small smile gracing his lips.

“Is it true? What I saw…” She already knew the answer, as muted as it was, she could still sense just a sliver of Ben’s life force.

She just needed to hear it from someone else.

“It is.” Luke confirmed. He looked relieved as he said it, as if he wanted to confirm it just as much as Rey did.

“How? I saw him fade away, I  _ felt  _ him die!” Rey couldn’t help raising her voice, she felt lied to and she wanted answers.

“That’s not my place to tell.” He said.

Rey opened her mouth to say something but was stopped by Luke putting his hand up, effectively silencing her with the single gesture.

“I know, you want to know, but right now, the  _ how _ isn’t so important, it’s the  _ where.”  _ Luke explained.

“Whoever said that the light side was for knowledge clearly lied then.” Rey shot at him. 

She knew just how stubborn the old Jedi master was and if he didn’t want to tell her something, he probably wasn’t going to do it.

“Do you want me to waste time explaining to you how he’s alive or do you want to find Ben?” Luke said, with a hint of annoyance.

“Of course I want to find him!” Rey yelled before realising that most people in the colony only a few meters away from her would see her yell at nothing.

“I saw a black place with white roads.” She said after composing herself.

“The World Between Worlds.” Luke provided. “It’s connected to all space and time so you’ll need to find a gate here and now to open so that Ben can get out.”

“And where can I find a gate?” Rey asked.

She needed to know how to get to Ben. They way Luke was speaking made her feel like she needed to save Ben from wherever he was. She had no idea what would happen to him if she didn’t find him and she didn’t really want to know, she couldn’t think like that. For once she would be selfish and get what she wanted, she would get Ben back.

“You’ll need to find that out on your own.” Luke said, prompting Rey to sigh, he really wasn’t going to make this easy for her.

“You’re not very helpful, you know that?” Rey took a deep breath to calm herself down. She was getting very close to finding out if she could hit Force ghosts or not.

“You have everything that you need, Rey” He declared, looking Rey in the eyes to see if she would figure out what he was implying.

Rey looked at Luke, she knew he was trying to tell her something without saying it out loud and it was frustrating her to no end. She needed to know how to find a gate and then actually find one. If only Luke would actually be helpful, he was sounding like the-

“The Jedi texts!” Rey realised, remembering the old books she had hidden away on the Falcon.

Luke smiled as he saw the light go off in Rey’s head. Neither he nor the Jedi of the past would always be there to help her. She needed to be able to do things on her own for a little while longer.

“Don’t look so smug, you barely helped at all.” Rey said, unable to stop herself from smiling.

“Hey, I nudged you in the right direction.” Luke jokingly defended himself. “Now go.”

“Thank you.” She nodded.

She still had questions, a lot of them that she knew Luke probably knew the answers to, but wasn’t willing to give her right now. It frustrated her but she was glad he gave her as much as he did. She knew where Ben was and she would trust Luke that the Jedi texts would tell her how to get to him.

Luke nodded his head before fading away, leaving Rey alone by the Force tree once more. But she wouldn’t stay there for long. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Then she  _ ran. _

Rey ran as fast as she could, the wind hitting her face almost uncomfortably from the speed she was going at. Her feet hitting the ground harshly, occasionally kicking up some dirt as her shoes dug into the ground. She came close to stumbling a few times before she finally reached the even ground of the platform.

If her friends were still there she didn’t see them, too focused on the ramp leading into the Millennium Falcon.

Once she was up the ramp and in the main corridor of the Falcon, she stopped for the first time since she started running. Hear breath was ragged as she looked around, trying to remember where she had put the old texts the last time she looked at them.

It didn’t take her long to realise where they were. She ran to the quarters, practically sliding down to the drawers under her own bunk and pulling them open. Seeing the spines of the old books peeking out from under her old poncho and Ben’s shirt she took with her after Exegol.

She threw them onto her bunk, taking the first one and flipping through it. She had gone through the texts so many times that she had a good idea what each page said and vaguely remembered reading about a World Between Worlds. But at the time she didn’t think it was anything relevant.

She didn’t find anything in the first book, throwing it back onto the bed before picking up the next one to flip through. It wasn’t until she reached the fifth book, the  _ Rammahgon,  _ when she finally found what she was looking for.

The page hadn’t been fully translated yet so Rey had a harder time going through the page than she would have liked. But there was one thing that caught her attention, a possible location.

Ossus.

Rey grabbed the book and rushed over to the cockpit. She jumped into the pilot chair and placed the old texts on the co-pilot seat next to her. Activating the navigation system, she looked up Ossus to see where in the galaxy it was located or if it even was in the system.

Luckily Ossus was in the outer rim territories, in the Adega system which wasn’t far from the Yavin system. But at a closer look, Rey realised that it was in the opposite direction from the Taris system where Poe and Finn needed to go.

She leaned back into the seat, looking at the colony through the transparisteel window. They would have to split up and they would want to know why and she wasn’t sure if she should tell them. She wanted to, she had wanted to tell them about Ben for the past year but could never bring herself to do it.

She was afraid of how they would react.

She considered them her family and she knew that they hated Kylo Ren. Finn and Poe having every right to with what they had gone through, especially Finn. Rose might understand but she probably wouldn’t be happy.

_ Chewie  _ though...

Rey wasn’t sure about what Chewie would think, she guessed that Chewie was around during Bens childhood so the old Wookie hopefully still had some love for his best friends only son.

She looked at the book resting on the co-pilot seat next to her. She knew she could just explain to the others that the Tree showed her a vision and that she needed to go to Ossus. She could tell them that it’s Jedi business, most of them didn’t understand the Force anyway, though she noticed Finn seemed to understand it more than Poe and Rose.

She could probably borrow a ship that she could fly on her own.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself down as if she was about to meditate. She reached out with the Force, sensing her friends in the colony and the abundance of life all around them.

She knew what she was going to do.

\---

It didn’t take her very long to find the Dameron home, using the Force to sense where her friends were instead of asking for direction. She had a lot on her mind and didn’t want to talk to strangers right now.

Rey knocked on the door, not wanting to just walk into someone’s home. It didn’t take long for Kes to open the door to her and usher her inside to join the rest of the group.

When she entered the room they were in, Finn and Poe were occupying a sofa, to their side Rose was sitting on a stool that didn’t look like it belonged in the room while Chewie had opted to stand at her side. A table with a pitcher of what looked like water and some glasses in between them all.

“I can get you a chair, if you’d like?” Kes offered, ready to go and get it.

“No thank you.” Rey shook her head. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be.”

She could see the surprise on everyone in the room and that Finn wanted to say something, but she stopped him before he could. “I have something to say, and you might not like it.”

With that they looked at each other then back at Rey, Rose giving her a nod to reassure her.

Rey started on Ahch-To and the first instance of the Force connecting her and Ben through time and space. She told them about the subsequent times she talked to Ben through the Force, and how eventually they had touched hands and each seen a version of the future, and how that was the moment she no longer saw Kylo Ren, but the man he truly was underneath the mask.

Ben Solo.

As she told them what had happened in the throne room, she noticed some confusion on everyone’s faces. She had told them that Snoke had been killed by Kylo Ren, but had only told Leia the whole story.

Eventually she told them what had happened in the short time before Exegol. How her and Ben were a dyad in the Force, how Palpatine had said it was like life itself and drained them to regain his strength.

She told them how she had defeated Palpatine with the help of past Jedi and how the effort had killed her only to be brought back by Ben sacrificing his life for her.

Finally, she told them how the Force tree had showed her that he was still alive, and that she wanted to go save him.

The room stayed quiet once she finished explaining everything. She looked around, seeing anger and confusion in most of their eyes. A part of her wanted to look down in shame, regretting her decision to tell them. But she knew she couldn’t dwell on that so she kept her head high.

“And you actually want to save him?” Finn said, his tone mostly that of confusion but Rey could sense a hint of anger.

“I do...I have to.” Rey stated.

“You don’t have to do anything!” Poe yelled, standing up so quickly that he bumped the table, causing it’s contents to shake. “Rey, you have no idea how many he has killed.”

“And do you think that every Star Destroyer and TIE fighter was empty?!” Rey shot back, catching Poe off guard. “You don’t think that some of the stormtroopers that we have shot couldn’t have been like Finn?!”

“Except he became the Supreme Leader, Rey, he was in charge!” Finn said, standing up next to Poe. “He’s a monster!”

“But not to me!” Rey called back, her volume matching that of Finn and Poe, the room going quiet once more.

“Look, I know he did bad things, a lot of them under the influence of someone else.” Rey cast her gaze downwards, trying to calm herself down. “But I can’t just abandon him, he’s a part of me…”

“You love him, don’t you?” It was Rose that spoke this time, all eyes now on her.

Rose’s words caught Rey off guard, she knew she cared for Ben, she had been the one to instigate the kiss after all. But she had never thought of it that way, she had never given herself the chance to even contemplate the idea.

But she  _ knew _ the answer, maybe she had  _ always _ known.

“I do…” Rey answered, sounding more certain than she had in awhile.

“I’m not going to pretend that I understand half of what you just said, but this is Leia’s son.” Kes spoke up. “And if Leia believed in him then so be it. I will hit him if I see him though.”

Chewie roared in agreement to what Kes said and said more aimed at Rey.

“Wait, really?” Rey was surprised with what Chewie had just said. “You’ll come with me?”

Chewie nodded, causing Rey to smile. She was so sure that she would have to do this alone but with Chewie with her, things would be a little bit easier.

“I don’t agree with this, at all.” Poe let out a long sigh. “But you never listen to me anyway so try not to get killed.”

“I’ll stay with these two.” Rose gestured to Finn and Poe. “Make sure they don’t try to stop you.”

“Thank you.” Rey said, she could feel the unease still prevalent in the room. She knew that they might not accept her saving Ben, but at least they would let her do it and for now,that was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back with Rey!
> 
> I am not a fan of writing a lot of characters in one room tbh but here I am...
> 
> Also this is the longest chapter so far, the last one is around the same length as well so....fun!


	4. Stubborn to a Fault

Ben had absolutely  _ no _ idea where he was.

All he could do was keep walking, which was proving to be more difficult with each passing step as the pain in his right leg got worse. It felt as if someone was pouring molten lava over his leg, the hot flashes of pain when he put weight on it shooting up from his calf to his thigh.

He knew he should stop, let it rest for a while as to not cause permanent damage.

But he  _ needed _ to get out of there.

He wanted to ignore the voices that echoed around him, some he recognized, his mother, his father, his uncle,  _ Rey.  _ There were more that he recognized, voices he had heard in his head for most of his life and some he had heard in old holos.

There were familiar voices that he couldn’t quite give a name to.

And more he couldn’t recognize.

Though voices came and went, sometimes he could hear them whispering somewhere far away and sometimes they were loud as if the person speaking was right next to him. Ben preferred the quiet moments when he couldn’t hear any of them and his heavy breathing was all he heard.

Then he heard Rey’s voice calling his name in the same quiet whisper after he had revived her with the force. His surprise caused him to put too much weight on his injured leg, the pain shooting up his leg like lightning and he fell to the ground, gasping as he landed on his side.

Ben wanted to stand up right away, to keep going, but his body refused to move. His back against the ground and the adrenaline no longer keeping him moving despite the pain he was in. He didn’t even know how long he had been walking, be it minutes, hours or longer.

He looked up at the infinity above him, the pinpricks of stars scattered around the blackness all around him. He wondered if they were stars or more gates and if he would have to check every single one. Each one he had passed had never felt right so he kept going to the next one, he was lost, both metaphorically and literally and all he could do was trust that the Force would guide him to the right one. But his connection to Rey was so faint that he could barely feel it.

It was starting to feel  _ Hopeless _ .

But he trusted his mother, she wouldn’t send him on a hopeless quest, so he had to keep going. He was alive, the pain was a constant reminder of that, and so he had to get out of this place and finally live his own life.

Hopefully with Rey in it.

Ben took a deep breath to prepare himself, rolling himself over and pushing himself up. His side throbbed as the muscles tensed when he pushed himself up to his knees. Taking another deep breath and gritting his teeth as he managed to get himself upright once more.

He had to keep going, for his mother, for Rey and for himself.

The first step was difficult and he almost tripped again but managed to catch himself before falling completely. He slowly started taking another step, reminding himself to just get through this, he had survived so much before this point and he would survive this.

He knew he was slower now than he had been, each step feeling heavy and painful. But he came to compete stop when he saw a figure in front of him. A young man with light hair and blue eyes that reminded him of his uncle save for the scar across his right brow.

There was something familiar about him that ben couldn’t quite place, He knew him yet at the same time, he didn’t know him at all.

“Hello Ben.” The man said with a soft smile.

“Who are you?” Ben asked, his mind trying to figure out why he felt like he knew this man.

“We’ve never met but my actions have had a large affect on your life.” The man began, his expression becoming regretful. “My name is Anakin Skywalker, I’m your grandfather.”

Ben’s eyes widened at that, unsure as to how he should react to that. He didn’t know what to think, he had worshipped his grandfather for a long time before realising that he could do better than him.

But even so he still admired the man, at least, the man he thought he was.

“I know this is probably weird and you’re wondering why I’m here.” Anakin said as he came closer to his grandson.

“ _ Why _ ?” Ben interrupted before Anakin could finish whatever he wanted to say.

“Did you know? Did you know that Palpatine was using  _ your _ voice inside my head? Why did  _ you _ never say anything?!” Ben continued, his voice rising with every question he asked.

“Believe me, I wanted to.” Anakin stated while running his hand through his hair. “I wanted to be able to do something.”

“Why  _ didn’t _ you?” Ben asked, anger clear in his voice.

“Even if I told you it wouldn’t change anything, I can’t fix my past mistakes.” Anakin said. “But I can make it up to you.”

Ben looked at his grandfather for a minute, he hadn’t realised that he had so much anger to direct at the man. He barely knew of the man before he found out he was Darth Vader and after that he had worshipped him, thought he had heard his voice only to find out that even that was a lie.

Maybe some of his anger was misguided, but he did know that he had a lot to answer for. And right now he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear it.

“I can tell that you have doubts.” Anakin noted Ben’s silence, his face wasn’t the easiest to read but his eyes gave everything away. “But please, let me make it up to you.”

Ben looked away from the ghost of his grandfather, the anger still seething beneath the surface. He knew he needed all the help he could get but he wasn’t sure he could accept it from Anakin. 

Emotions had always had a strong hold over Ben, logic often taking a back seat in his decision making. Right now was no exception, he knew that he needed any help he could get but he had so many feelings swirling around in his head because of his grandfather.

So he stumbled past him, not looking at the ghost as he did so.

“Are you sure?” Anakin simply asked.

“No.” Ben admitted, still slowly stumbling forward.

“And you’re just going to keep going?” Anakin turned around to watch his grandson go. “With no idea what to even look for?”

“I don’t have a choice.” Ben stated as he stopped.

“You always have a choice.” Anakin said as he walked closer to the younger man.

“Not this time.” Ben turned around to look at his grandfather again. “I  _ have _ to find her.”

Anakin saw the resolve in his grandsons eyes. Eyes that he noticed looked like his own mothers, especially with the dark hair framing his face.

But his eyes also reminded him of his own.

“You really care for this girl.” He stated, thinking about the lengths he would go for the chance to save Padmé, only to fail in the end.

“I do.” Ben admitted, the corner of his lip quirking up.

He had realised that he cared for Rey a long time ago, ever since Snoke accused him of feeling compassion for her on Starkiller base.

He realised that he  _ loved _ her after he felt her die on Exegol.

“I understand what it’s like.” Anakin said with a smile. “Padmé meant everything to me, couldn’t even bare the thought of losing her.”

He looked down forlornly. “You remind me of her a bit.”

Ben had heard many stories of his grandmother, mostly hearing about her determination, kindness and bravery. He remembered how his mother cared for the old gowns when he was a child and she had even taken him to Naboo once to visit the tomb of the beloved former queen and senator.

His image of his grandmother had been that of beauty, regality and grace and couldn’t see what Anakin was talking about. Raising his brow in mild confusion at the idea.

“Stubborn to a fault.” Anakin supplied, noting Ben’s confusion. “She would say strong willed but it was stubbornness.”

Ben huffed out a laugh, he could understand that. His mother was the same and he had been described as stubborn on multiple occasions. But he also understood his grandfather’s predicament. Rey was incredibly stubborn as well and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I know you might not want to hear me out now.” Anakin said. “But I do want to help you.”

It took Ben a minute to come to a decision, having calmed down from his earlier outburst. Giving Anakin a nod, agreeing to accept his help.

“I don’t have life force to give but I can do this.” Anakin said, gesturing to Ben’s leg before stretching his hand out and closing his eyes.

Ben felt the Force move around him, and then a slight pull forward.

“This will show you the way to the right gate.” Anakin explained. “And when you find her, don’t let go.”

“If she’ll have me…” Ben began, his resolve stronger than ever and somehow the aching pain he had been feeling, felt just a little more bearable. “...I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me writing a fic so that I can at least address things that bothered me...
> 
> WHERE WERE YOU ANI?!?


	5. A Friend

Rey was lying awake in her bunk on the Millenium Falcon. Wearing Ben’s shirt that got left behind when he faded away, she had patched up the hole and reluctantly given it a wash after sleeping in it after a few weeks.

It still faintly smelled of him, she had been sad when she noticed his scent was fading away. But soon she would hopefully have the real thing and she didn’t intend to let him go anytime soon.

She stared up at the ceiling as the gentle shaking of the Falcon traveling through hyperspace, heading for Ossus. She knew that Chewie was probably still in the cockpit after he had practically ordered her to lie down and rest. She tried protesting but was quickly shut down by the Wookie.

But she couldn’t rest, hadn’t been able to ever since she found out Ben was alive.

That had been over a day ago.

Rey decided that since she had at least been lying there for an hour or two, she could probably go back to the cockpit. She hadn’t managed to fall asleep but at least she had rested her body, though her mind was a different story.

Throwing her legs over the edge of the bunk and slipping on her boots before standing up, she didn’t bother getting dressed properly yet. They still had some travel time left and the shirt was large enough that it covered her nicely as well as finding it to be quite comfortable.

Making her way over to the cockpit, the rushing blue of the hyperdrive lane flying by the transparisteel windows. Chewie was leaning back in the pilot seat, only stirring once he heard Rey coming in.

Chewie let out a questioning growl as she sat next to him in the co-pilot seat.

“I tried, but I just couldn’t fall asleep.” Rey explained before checking how long they had left before arriving at Ossus.

Chewie noticed what she was doing, seeing her furrowed brows and tense shoulders. She had barely let up the whole flight which is why he demanded for her to rest, but even that didn’t seem to have eased her nerves.

He patted Rey’s head, an action he had often done to young Ben with varying reactions depending on how tall the boy had been.

Her reactions were usually the same, her eyes squishing closed and a small smile before forming into a larger one with teeth showing.

“I’ll be alright Chewie.” Rey tried to reassure the wookie.

Chewie replied with a low rumble before moving on to a questioning tone.

“It was Ben’s.” Rey answered his question, pulling the sweater closer to her. “I’ve had it for a while now.”

He could figure out for how long considering the story she had told everyone on Yavin so he didn’t pry further, only giving her a curt growl.

“It’s not my fault that he’s so tall.” Rey said with a laugh.

The two of them sat in silence after that, Rey caught in her own thoughts about what she would find on Ossus. She had no idea what to expect but it was the only lead she had, and she had to follow it.

* * *

Rey got dressed before they exited hyperspace, Chewie having given her the pilot seat to take them where they needed to go as the planet shot into view.

The orange planet reminded her of Jakku and wondered if it was another sandy planet, but she was pleasantly surprised when she saw the mountains, hills and forests. It wasn’t anything like Yavin-4 or Takodana but there was more life than on her former home.

Chewie pulled Rey from her thoughts with a questioning rumble.

“I’m not sure where to look.” She admitted. “But I’ll be on the lookout for somewhere where the Force is strong.”

He nodded before looking back out at the land below them, knowing that he would have to focus on the Falcon so that she could do her sensing.

Trusting in the wookie, Rey closed her eyes and reached out to the Force, feeling it flow below them. She could sense the life on the planet below them, places where there were settlements and barren lands that she somehow knew had a tragic history.

But so far no place stood out to her. Until she reached out further, away from the settlements and past the wastes.

There was a place there that was stronger than anywhere else and she knew that’s where they needed to go.

“I found it!” Rey exclaimed as she took the controls and steered them to where they needed to go.

It didn’t take Rey long to find the place, which turned out to be some old ruins. She began to worry that she wouldn’t find a gate with the state the ruins were in, but she could only see so much from the cockpit of the Falcon.

They landed as close as they could and Rey quickly got off the freighter. Chewie stood by the ramp as Rey started looking around the place, making sure that her lightsaber was close at hand.

She could tell that this place used to be of some importance judging from the intricate designs that could still be seen on some of the rocks that she guessed were once walls. She could see that there had once been some designs on the floor as well, but were now gone.

There were small rodents that scurried away into their holes when Rey stepped closer to them as she made her way to the center of the remains of the old building.

It was on one of the wall debris where she spotted the old Jedi symbol and realised that this had once been a Jedi temple.

As she stood in the center of the ruins she decided that it would be safe enough to meditate, in hopes of sensing something that could tell her if there was a gate there or not.

Sitting down and crossing her legs, Rey started to take deep breaths as she closed her eyes.

There was nothing out of the ordinary. The area she was in was stronger with the Force than anywhere else around her but that was all she could sense. There was nothing that told her that it could be a gate or even any sort of anomaly.

She kept meditating for a while, hoping that maybe she just missed something. But after a while, she realised that there was nothing different about the place.

Trying to keep herself calm she decided to try looking around more, maybe there was an old book or some writing on the wall pieces that could tell her something.

At first she was more delicate, only looking around without disturbing anything too much, but as time went on and she couldn’t find anything new, she started to move the rocks about more haphazardly.

Rey was getting frustrated, no matter how much she tried to keep herself calm and control her breathing. She kept getting more and more panicked, it couldn’t be a dead end.

This was her _only_ lead.

After a while she had completely changed the way the ruins looked, no stone was left unturned and she was now laying in the center of the old temple. She was panting and she could feel her eyes getting wetter.

She didn’t know what to do anymore. She had to find Ben, she didn’t want to feel this lonely.

“The locals might not appreciate you redecorating.”

Rey shot up, igniting her saber as she did so to face whoever had spoken. Seeing an older Togruta woman wearing an old white cloak, sitting on one of the upturned rocks.

“Calm down, I’m not going to hurt you.” The woman explained with a smile. “Rey, correct?”

“How do you know my name?” Rey asked, lowering still ignated saber.

“I have some friends who were in the resistance.” The woman divulged.

“Like who?” Rey said as she turned off her lightsaber. Deciding that if the Togruta woman was a threat, she’d have done something already.

“Leia for instance, and I’m familiar with the Wookie you left by that freighter.” The woman gestured in the direction of the Falcon.

“I don’t think they ever mentioned you.” Rey pointed out, trying to see if there was anything familiar about the Togruta woman. “Who are you?”

“My name is Ahsoka Tano.” The woman said, still casually sitting on the rock.

“I’ve heard of you…” Rey muttered, it hadn’t been much but she remembered hearing that name a couple of times.

“Have you now.” Ahsoka stated as she quirked her brow. “Well I’ve heard you’ve been looking for a gate.”

“Do you know of one?” Rey asked, clipping her saber to her belt and getting closer to Ahsoka. “I need to find one.”

“I know of a few.” Ahsoka supplied, she hadn’t spent all these years just sitting around doing nothing after all.

“Please, I need to find one.” Rey practically begged, normally she wouldn’t like doing things like this, trusting someone she just met. But with her only lead being a dead end, she needed all the help she could get.

“Chewbacca said that you want to save someone.” Ahsoka said.

“I do..” Rey began, thinking of the right words to use. “He’s...important to me.”

“Good thing you came to Ossus then.” Ahsoka stated as she stood up.

“But...there’s nothing here.” Rey was confused, she had all but turned the whole place upside down looking for _something_.

“Not up here, no.” Ahsoka chuckled, walking past Rey.

“What do you mean?” Rey asked, following closely behind the older woman.

“I’ve learned that most Jedi Temples have their secrets.” Ahsoka explained as she stopped right in the center of the ruins. “And usually you can find them if you look close enough.”

“I’ve looked everywhere!” Rey said as she gestured to the mess around them.

“Not everywhere.” Was all that Ahsoka said as she reached out her hand and closed her eyes.

Rey realised then that the older woman could use the Force as the ground around them shook and a part of the ground in front of them started to shift, revealing stairs that led down into darkness.

“Who are you?” Rey asked, bewildered by the woman.

“A friend.” Ahsoka said as she started making her way to the stairs.

Rey quickly followed, getting her saber ready to use as a light, as they descended into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish we could have seen a Live Action Ahsoka....it would have been cool, plus she'd be awesome in her 60's


	6. Reunited

Whatever new found strength Ben had found was quickly fading and the sharp pain shooting up his leg was making it more and more difficult to keep going. His side was starting to hinder him as well, the throbbing pain coming off in waves and making it difficult to breathe.

A part of him wanted to stop, to just collapse on the ground and close his eyes for a minute. But the persistent tugging that was guiding him to the right gate reminded him that he couldn’t stop, not now. Even if time worked differently in this world, he didn’t want to waste any of it.

He was slowing down, each step feeling heavier as it became more difficult to move. He had a high pain tolerance, knew how to use it to gain strength. But he was still human and his body would only last for so long before it would eventually give up.

He had to find the gate before that would inevitably happen.

* * *

Rey followed Ahsoka as they kept going down, her lightsaber the only source of light as they had gone so far down that she could no longer see the opening above them.

The gentle yellow glow was barely enough to light up the area around them so Rey had no idea how much further these stairs went but Ahsoka didn’t seem bothered at all, descending with a certain familiarity.

“Have you been here before?” Rey asked, almost missing a step as she did so.

“I have.” Ahsoka answered simply. “And watch your step.”

Rey wondered how the older woman had even found this place, it was so well hidden and it didn’t seem to have much going on for it. It was unassuming, the intricate designs she had seen remnants of up top were not found down in the stairwell.

As if sensing Rey’s questions, Ahsoka spoke up. “I’ve been looking for someone myself, he disappeared and he knew of the World Between Worlds so that’s where I looked. I didn’t find him but I found many places like these, ancient tombs from a forgotten era.”

Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, Ahsoka stopped and turned around to face Rey above her. “What will you do if you can’t find who you’re looking for?”

Rey stopped as well, taken aback by the question. She hadn’t let herself think that way, she was so determined to find Ben that the idea that she wouldn’t, was not an option for her.

“I  _ will _ find him.” Rey stated, not finding him wasn’t an option.

Ahsoka studied Rey’s face, seeing the resolve in the girls eyes. They were eyes she had seen before in people that would do anything for the ones they loved. She realised that no matter what, Rey wouldn’t be deterred from her goal.

“Well then, I guess we better keep moving then.” Ahsoka smiled, turning back around to continue walking down the tunnel.

* * *

He felt nauseous. His vision was starting to blur and he had stumbled more than once. His body was failing and he couldn’t stop it.

Ben tripped on the next step, letting out a grunt of pain as he landed on his injured side. He had to get back up but as he tried to push himself back up, he fell right back down.

He was tired. He had been shuffling along for what felt like forever now and he had no idea how much longer he would have to walk before he would get to the right gate. The tugging was still there, reminding him that he still had a ways to go but his body could barely go on.

But as his vision cleared for a moment, he saw it, there was a gate that the road he was on directly led to. And unlike the countless gates he had passed before,  _ this one _ had something inside it.

Forcing himself to stand back up, while his body screamed at him to stop. Ben ignored the agonizing pain that shot through his side and his leg, and took a step forward. He almost fell back down again but managed to keep himself upright, putting a little too much pressure on his leg and sending a searing flash of pain up his leg, causing him to yell.

Ben tried his best to ignore the throbbing and took another step forward, trying to get closer to the gate in front of him. It wasn’t too far, but still a good few meters that he hoped he could manage through.

The closer he got to the gate, the clearer the image in the circle became. He could just barely make out two figures and a yellow glow.

And he could sense Rey.

Without thinking he moved faster, eventually falling to his knees a short distance from the gate.

She was there, he could feel it. It still felt like there was a wall between them and he had to  _ move _ , his body not wanting to listen to him so he did the only thing he could think of.

He called out.

“REY!”

* * *

After the seemingly endless descent of the stairs, the tunnel was a short walk, opening up into a wide open area. The intricate designs that she had seen above were back down here, at a quick glance she could tell that they told some kind of story, but she didn’t pay too much attention to that.

What caught her attention was the mural in the middle of it all. It was a beautiful mosaic depicting three people all standing side by side. But before she could inspect it further, she heard a voice echoing through the mural.

_ REY! _

It was  _ Ben’s _ voice.

She was already moving before she even realised what was going on, dropping her lightsaber on the ground. The yellow light illuminating the cavern going out, being replaced by a white glow that Rey didn’t bother to question the origin of.

“BEN!” She called out as she rushed to the mural and without any hesitation, she went through.

The next thing she knew, the world around her had disappeared.

* * *

Ben could barely hear his own panting through the blood rushing in his ears. He could barely move through the pain, only just being able to keep himself up on his knees.

But then he heard it.

_ BEN! _

He looked up, seeing Rey running towards the gate.

With the little strength he had left, he managed to get himself standing up again. He wanted to move forward, he wanted to run to her.

But he couldn’t.

He could barely take a single step.

And he didn’t need to.

Rey was already through the gate and bolting towards him, quickly throwing herself against causing both of them to fall to the ground. Knocking the air out of his lungs and letting out a grunt of pain.

The bond between them no longer feeling like there was a wall between them or a thick sludge dulling it.

They were  _ whole _ .

Rey had a tight grip around him, not caring if he could breathe at the moment. She didn’t want to let him go, she was scared that if she did he would fade away again. She didn’t notice him grimacing in pain as he held her just as tightly.

“You were gone.” She whispered into the crook of his neck.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered back, his grip loosening as his strength faded.

“You were gone for a whole year…” She said as she pulled back to look at him, seeing the scratches on his face. “Were you here this whole time?”

“I don’t know.” Ben admitted, a little bit of guilt nagging at the back of his mind and the fact that he had missed an entire year barely registering.

Rey then pulled them up so they were both sitting, her on his lap. She noticed him grit his teeth as she did so and she realised.

The scratches on his face. They were the same as when she last saw him on Exegol. 

“Ben, you’re hurt.” She stated, worry etched on her face.

“Yeah.” He admitted, he didn’t want to worry her but he couldn’t deny that he had had better days.

Without any hesitation she moved her hand over to his abdomen, readying herself to transfer some of her life force to him. But was stopped before she could even begin by his hand covering hers.

“I…” He wasn’t sure how to say it, but he was afraid of the consequences. He had given her what he believed to be the rest of his life force before, and now she wanted to give him some of hers and he was still incredibly injured.

“I’ll be alright.” She reassured him, in truth she wasn’t sure herself. She just didn’t want to see him in pain.

After a quiet moment between them, he nodded, letting her heal him. Though his hand still rested on top of hers.

Rey closed her eyes as she let the Force flow through her and started guiding it into Ben, willing it to heal him.

It was then that she noticed the extent of his injuries. How his left side had been broken and bruised and his leg punished severely despite no outwardly symptoms. She knew he had been hurt but the amount of pain he endured must have been excruciating.

Ben could feel his bones mend themselves, little fractures closing and splinters going back into place. His left lung felt lighter somehow and his organs seemed to go back into place.

Once he could feel the bruise slowly fade away, he grabbed Rey’s hand tightly. He was worried that he would feel it grow cold in his hand but it remained the same warmth he remembered.

They looked into each other's eyes, both trying to see if everything was alright, making sure that the other wouldn’t suddenly collapse. After a good minute of them staring, Ben placed his free hand on her cheek and kissed her.

It was slow and deliberate, neither one wanting the moment to get away from them. Both wanting to savour every single second as if it was their last, only pulling apart when they needed to breathe.

They rested their foreheads together, a smile spread wide on each of their lips.

“I thought I would never do that again.” Rey whispered, her hand grasping Ben’s tightly.

“Did you think I could stay away?” He chuckled, his hand still resting on her cheek.

Rey wished that they could just stay this way, the world quiet around them, no one to bother them as they held each other close. But her knowledge of the world that they currently sat in was limited so they would eventually need to go.

“We should go.” Rey said, not moving despite what she just said.

“Do we have to?” Ben asked.

“Unless you want to live here, then yes we do.” She chuckled as she decided to move off of his lap, her hand still holding his.

“That’s a good point.” He said as he squeezed her hand tighter, some part of him still scared that she would disappear.

Rey stood up first and Ben quickly followed her up. They didn’t stand around for long, giving each other a quick look before Rey was tugging him along by the hand, leading him to the same gate she had come through.

She could see Ahsoka through the gate, noticing that the white glow she saw earlier was from a lightsaber. She did wonder about her story, but the warmth of the hand she held reminded her that she had something more important with her now.

As they passed through the gate, Ben couldn’t help but take a deep breath. The air was stale but there was some movement to it which was more than whatever he was breathing in the World Between Worlds.

“Last time I saw you, you were just a baby.” Ahsoka pointed out as she saw Ben. “You’ve certainly grown up.”

“Ahsoka showed me to this place.” Rey explained, using the Force to pick up the lightsaber she had dropped.

Ben gave the older woman a nod as a thank you. He didn’t know what else to say, she was someone who knew his parents and most likely knew what he had done and it didn’t look like it bothered her.

“You two go on.” Ahsoka said as she pulled the hood over her montrals.

Rey wanted to say something, to thank her for showing her the gate, for helping her get Ben back. But as she opened her mouth, Ahsoka stopped her.

“Just don’t lose him again, alright?” The older woman said with a wink and a smile.

Rey nodded before looking up at Ben, their eyes meeting before they both looked back to where Ahsoka stood, only she was gone.

With a tug, Rey started guiding Ben to the tunnel. Igniting her saber to light the way as she moved forward. She made sure that she had a good grip on his hand, fearing that if she would let go, he wouldn’t be there anymore and she didn’t want to risk that happening again.

The trip up the stairs somehow felt a lot shorter to Rey, her heart beating hard against her chest as rays of light from the opening began illuminating the top part of the stairs. She turned off her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt as she started pulling Ben more strongly due to her increased pace.

Then finally they were outside, the wind was a bit stronger than when they had gone down and the two suns were now lower in the sky.

“You really did a number on this place.” Ben said as he looked at the ruins around him.

“You’ve been here before?” Rey asked, genuinely curious as to what business he could have in a place like this.

“Once.” Ben stated, thinking back to the first time he had been here and how he had wanted to turn the place upside down. “There were rumours that my uncle had been here.”

Rey decided not to pry any further, she understood enough from that single statement.

“Come on, Chewie’s waiting by the Falcon.” She wasn’t sure he could take it, having to go on the Falcon again or seeing Chewie, but he didn’t have much of a choice.

Ben hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. Last time he had actually seen Chewie, the wookie had shot him with a bowcaster. And then the Millenium Falcon, so much of his childhood he had wanted to fly it and eventually grew to hate the freighter due to all the memories attached to it.

“Ok, let’s go.” Ben said with a nod, it was time to move forward.

Rey nodded as she led him by the hand towards the Falcon, thankful that she had landed close to the ruins. When the ship came into view, she spotted Chewie, still dutifully standing by the entry ramp.

He roared when he saw the two come closer, Rey giving him a wave in response.

Ben’s grip tightened around her hand when he saw the Wookie. Swallowing the lump that was forming his his throat as he came closer to arguably the only family he had left.

Rey decided that they needed a moment, reluctantly letting go of Ben’s hand so that they could talk between themselves.

Ben opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Chewie giving him a tight hug. He didn’t know how to react, eyes wide in surprise and his arms tight against his side.

But his surprise didn’t last too long and he returned the hug.

As they broke apart the sweet moment was abruptly stopped by Chewie hitting Ben over the head just hard enough for him to be able to feel it while scolding him.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” Ben said as he rubbed the side of his head that had been hit. “Truly, I am sorry.”

Chewie growled and roughed up Ben’s hair, his eyes squeezing shut like he had done as a boy.

“Come on.” Rey pitched in, offering her hand to Ben.

Looking at her outstretched hand, he couldn’t help but smile. It was something he had done so often to her and now she was offering him her hand.

And he’d be  _ damned _ if he wouldn’t take it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here it is, the last chapter. I actually finished a fic for once.
> 
> I started writing this because I needed to fix that ending and well....I can write so....this became a thing.
> 
> Honestly I'd like to thank Sketch and Prime again for helping me out with this, you can find them on tumblr as Sketch-ice and thepeacefulknight  
> and you can find me on tumblr as Chioccetta, I post my reylo art there and mention some plot bunnies I have.
> 
> But honestly, thank you so much for reading and hope you all have a great day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my lovely best buds Sketch and Prime for being my betas for this fic, honestly you two are life savers!
> 
> This fic switches between Ben's and Rey's POV with each chapter save for one.


End file.
